The present invention relates to a laundry press including a perforated press basket, a cover which can be placed on the basket, and an elastic diaphragm mounted in the cover. The press further includes a device for conducting a pressure medium into the space defined between the cover and the diaphragm, and a vessel for collecting and conducting away the water pressed out of the laundry.
Laundry presses of this type are known. For example, German Pat. No. 561,177 shows a cylindrical container having a perforated bottom, a cover which can be placed on the cylinder, and a rubber diaphragm fastened on the inside of the cover. The space between the cover and the rubber diaphragm can be pressurized by means of an air pump on the cover, so that the water contained in the laundry can be pressed out.
German Pat. No. 648,293 shows a spherical container and a rubber diaphragm fastened in the equatorial plane of the container. In this spherical laundry press, only the cover is perforated and has a water discharge channel. The pressure required for pressing out the laundry is generated by means of pressurized water.
At the present time, a laundry press operating in two stages is used commercially. This laundry press includes a perforated container in which the laundry arriving from the washing machine is initially mechanically pressed by means of a plunger. Subsequently, the container is removed and the compressed laundry is conveyed to the next processing station where a bell-shaped cover is placed over the compressed laundry which has been put onto a perforated bottom. An elastic diaphragm is mounted in the interior of the cover. This diaphragm applies the actual pressure for pressing out the laundry.
This laundry press has the disadvantage that it operates in two stages and that the bundle of compressed laundry may open on its way from the first pressing station to the second pressing station, so that pieces of the laundry may be clamped in the sealing surface between the bell-shaped cover and the bottom, which may lead to damage.
In another laundry press which is used commercially at present, a cylindrical container has a perforated bottom. The bottom is elastic to compensate for non-uniform distribution of the laundry in the container. The laundry is pressed out mechanically by means of a piston.
In a second stage, compressed air is conducted through the mechanically drained laundry in order to force out additional water. This press may easily crease or even damage the laundry. In addition, the compressed air which is conducted through the laundry must be pre-filtered and disinfected.
Another disadvantage of the known laundry presses resides in that individual pieces of laundry remain adhering to the wall of the pressing basket when unloading the laundry batch. Experience has shown that the adherence is greatest when the wall of the pressing basket is smooth. It is then necessary to remove these pieces of laundry by hand.
Therefore, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a laundry press of the type described above which operates in one stage, can be easily loaded and unloaded, has a high drainage efficiency, and prevents damage to the laundry.